German experts for Malaysian plane crash probe

Berlin, July 20: The German government will send two experts to Ukraine to support the MH17 crash probe, a media report said Saturday.

Citing German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt, Focus Online said two experts from the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) would fly to Kiev Sunday.

"As we expect that there will be an international commission for investigation into the cause of MH17 crash under the leadership of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), BFU Director Ulf Kramer and another expert should be available in order to support the ongoing investigation and contribute to the clarification of the case," Dobrindt said.

A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane crashed Thursday in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border, killing all the 298 people on board.

At her annual summer press conference Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for an independent investigation into the crash.

Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation Saturday and agreed for an international investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines fight MH17.

The two leaders "agreed that an international, independent commission under the direction of ICAO should quickly have access to the crash site to shed light on the circumstances of the crash and recover the bodies", a government statement said.